German compacts and a coupe worked up to a seriously high-performance state made up the entire $75K-plus podium for 2017. In this pricey realm, bulk grunt happened to pip dynamic purity, with the Lotus Elise and Alfa Romeo 4C sitting just outside the top three. The Audi RS3, a bit like the TT RS in third, puts big outputs in an all-paw package to place point-to-point pace ahead of ultimate driver involvement.

But there’s no arguing with its impressive mix of low-fours to 100km/h and fuel economy inside the 10s (in all three medallists). Yet the RS3 delivers it for less dough than the TT, and with significantly stronger resale than its arch-rival, the A45.